Pressure Reducing Valve - bad ?? PRV or Regulator

[cody21]

We have a Pressure Relief Valve installed at our water main into the house. The Plumber who was here yesterday (for another issue) took a PSI check of our water pressure at a faucet outside the house. It was 95 PSI ... He went to our water shut-off and saw a PRV installed that is clearly rusted. He said "your PRV is bad" and is therefore not properly regulating water pressure inside the house. Says that the water company "restricts water delivery" when it's that high - should be 45-80 PSI .. (We've always complained that the pressure seems low - especially in the showers, but assumed it was the low-flow heads). Anyway, the previous owners actually (stupidly) had cemented the darn PRV partially into the ground! So we'll need to jackhammer to clear the cement, cut the pipe, install a new PRV higher above the ground, and a new ball-type shutoff.

So my question: Was he telling me the truth about 95 PSI is too high and the purpose of the PRV ? There is a screw on the front of the PRV -- I assume that is how you adjust the pressure thru the PRV ? How do we know it is actually BAD ? He's talking about $500 to do all that work (jackhammering, cutting, replacing, etc.) - supposedly 2 hours of work.

And lastly, is this a DIY job? We're fairly handy and have soldered brass piping before. (water heater)

Thanks in advance.

[jimbo]

It is a pressure REGULATING valve, not relief valve. Code does require 80 PSI max inside the building, and most regulator valves have an output range of 25 to 75,so yours is defective. It needs to be replaced.

By the way, the secondary symptom of a bad regulator is LOW FLOW...which will appear as LOW PRESSURE when the faucets or showers are on.

[cody21]

Thanks so much for clarifying that ... We have a plumber stopping by tomorrow to replace it ...